The Same Man
by tradlover
Summary: My take on what should have happened the night Sookie told Eric what happened when he was cursed. Eric does some serious thinking when he leaves her that night. Rated M for lemons and mature situations.


**This story starts the night Eric blackmails Sookie into telling him what happened when he was cursed. This is how I wish their story played out. EPOV. Rated M for lemons and mature situations.**

**As always, I do not own these characters. All rights are owned by Charlaine Harris.**

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"_Eric,_" she said, "_we had sex in every position I could imagine, and some I couldn't. We had sex in every room in my house, and we had sex outdoors. You told me it was the best you'd ever had. Too bad you can't remember it_."

Huge fists pounded the steering wheel in frustration as the vampire roared within the close confines of the Corvette. She somehow managed damn him even further with her sweet, taunting words; even as she gave him what he'd doggedly pursued for weeks.

Her revelation only made the ancient vampire feel uneasy. A sense of purpose italicized her words; finality lurked in her voice and blazing blue eyes. He was used to her rejection. This was different.

He never expected her to confirm it at all, in truth. She was frustratingly stubborn. Hearing her beg a favor had lit a primitive flame within him; the Viking rose, beating his fists against a well-muscled chest. The vampire in him was not far behind, measuring her words, deciphering what he could glean with his assistance.

The fact she'd been asking a favor for someone else didn't surprise him a whit. The Sookie Stackhouse he knew was always foolishly putting herself in danger to save other worthless bloodbags. He was actually thankful for her lack of self-preservation instincts this time. He finally had the leverage he needed.

He wasn't going to waste it.

He stared through the windshield of the car, watching the raindrops flow like tears across the glass. He'd expected to feel triumphant; to walk away content with the upper hand. It was all he thought he'd wanted ever since he'd woken the night the curse was broken.

Why, then, did he feel more conflicted than ever? He'd wanted to fuck Sookie Stackhouse from the minute he saw her. He'd gotten his wish. He should be exultant, but his mood was blacker than the inky night sky. They'd fucked, many times apparently, but he knew it could never have been just casual fucking. Not with Sookie Stackhouse.

He'd offered to leave everything behind to be with her, the woman he'd said was the best he'd ever had. It obviously was more than just casual fucking for him, too. It was completely contrary to anything he would do before he met the enthralling telepath. What had happened to him during that time?

Eric let loose an inventive string of ancient curses peppered with more vulgar common vernacular. Turning the key in the ignition, he started the powerful engine. He let it rev for a minute, not giving a fuck if he disturbed the neighbors. He gunned the engine and pulled away from Sookie's temporary home, driving aimlessly through the nearly deserted streets of Bon Temps.

Why the fuck did he ever think this would be easy? Ever since the stubborn Fae-hybrid had walked into his bar with Bill Compton, everything had been turned upside-fucking-down. He'd always wanted her, even when she was foolishly claiming to be Bill's.

Bill Compton was not worthy of such a creature. It was inevitable he would fuck it all up and Eric bided his time. He could never completely free himself of thoughts of the telepath, though, even when ball's deep in another woman. To say he'd been frustrated by his brief encounters with Sookie was an understatement. His entire retinue could attest to his foul mood and touchy temper each and every time she'd spurned his advances.

No, he had been wrong in assuming this would be a triumph. The knowledge felt bitter, like acid in his veins. He'd finally gotten what he'd wanted for so long, only to have it snatched away. Her parting words struck him like a dagger to his chest.

"_I asked you for a favor: releasing Tara from her bondage to Mickey. You asked me for payment for that favor: telling you what happened when you lost your memory. You performed your side of the bargain, and so did I. Bought and paid for. The end."_

The detached expression on her smiling face spoke louder than her words. She didn't want to discuss their time together; she was over it. Eric growled, thinking of her laughter before she'd unceremoniously shut him down completely. The sound started low in his chest, building intensity until it scratched its way up his throat and out through clenched teeth. It would have struck fear into the hearts of all who heard it, only Eric was alone in his rage.

He was always alone, he thought bitterly. His had been a lonely existence. Appius had been a constant companion for hundreds of centuries, but even then Eric had been alone, save for time spent satisfying whatever twisted appetites his maker had. He was alone in every way that mattered.

By the time Appius released him, Eric had grown into the cold, hard vampire he portrayed to the world. He'd made plenty of contacts through his years, and had many he could count on in a pinch, but few he could call a friend. After a thousand years on this earth, it was a paltry number.

His beautiful, irrepressible child was his closest confidant; she was the one vampire he trusted implicitly. He'd been in a low mood when he'd seen Pamela Ravenscroft, the bored, willful offspring of an aristocratic English lord, sneaking out to meet with a lover. He'd needed a companion, a friend, someone to be with and Pam filled the role completely for a while. She'd risen a magnificent vampire from the start. They'd enjoyed a torrid, raging sexual relationship for a couple of decades, but it hadn't been long before she'd discovered her preference for the soft curves of women.

Their relationship had grown stronger through the years, even stronger than when they were still fucking each other. But even Pam had left him, striking out on her own twenty years before the Great Revelation. She'd come back when he called her, but it was only a matter of time before she would leave him again. It was inevitable.

Eric cursed softy as he realized he was driving down Hummingbird Lane. He hadn't consciously decided to go to Sookie's house, but his distracted brain had taken him to where he'd felt safe and happy. He pulled the car into her lane and drove up to the house. Anger filled him as he looked at the damage from the fire.

She could have been killed and that idiot Twining had been nowhere to be found. She'd been rescued by a fairy, yet again. She'd been shot again, for fuck's sake. Eric shook his head, golden locks tumbling haphazardly. She was so much fucking trouble.

He pushed the anger aside as he parked the car and exited into the driving rain. He vamped to the front porch, trying to stay as dry as possible before entering Sookie's home. She wasn't here to scold him, but somehow he knew she wouldn't appreciate him traipsing around her house soaking wet.

She wouldn't appreciate him traipsing around her house at all, but that was beside the point.

He stood on the porch enclosure and stared out into the yard. They'd had sex outdoors, she'd said. Had it been here, in her yard? In her woods, perhaps? Did he make love to her under the stars? He shook his head in frustration. Without memories to substantiate her claims, he might never know.

He walked into the house through the unlocked front door, his nostrils twitching from the stench of smoke hanging in the air. It all but obliterated the sweetness of Sookie's scent in this area of the house. He surveyed the damage to the kitchen from the open door. The old table was in charred pieces on the burnt out floor and Eric glared at it ominously. Was the rubble a piece of his history with Sookie?

Turning abruptly from the charred mess and walking to the other end of the foyer, Eric hunched in the doorway of the living room for a long minute; hands jammed tightly into his jeans pockets. The smell of smoke lingered here, too, but Sookie's unmistakable fragrance was more pronounced in this space. He strolled through the room, pausing near the fireplace as he picked up his own scent more distinctly.

He sat on the old stone hearth and looked at the shiny hardwood floors and the woven rugs scattered about. Had he taken Sookie here on the rug beneath his feet? Or had she taken him here, riding him into oblivion before a roaring fire?

Sharp eyes examined every inch of the living room, taking in possibilities for their escapades. Surely they'd made use of the wide old sofa, but he had trouble picturing whether he'd pounded her into it, her glorious legs wrapped around his back; or whether she'd risen to her knees, grasping the back of the flowered sofa for leverage as he pumped against her rounded ass from behind. Maybe they'd done both, he thought with a growl.

He stood up and strolled around the room, searching for where their scent was strongest. Despite his close examination, he determined nowhere bore his scent as powerfully as the area before the fireplace. He frowned as he stared at the spot. How much time had they spent before the fire? Had they fucked the entire time, or had Sookie held him close to her, warming his body and soul with her gentle touch? Had they told stories and shared secrets in the long hours before dawn?

The vampire continued his inspection of the house, moving from room to room until he reached the door of her bedroom. With his hand on the doorknob, he paused. They might have fucked on every surface in the house, but Eric was certain they had made good use of her soft bed. He steeled himself as he opened the door and stepped into her private space.

Smoke was the top note in the air, but everything else was pure Sookie, with a faint undercurrent of his own scent. The ancient vampire stood in the center of the room, eyes closed tightly as he breathed deeply through his nose. He could smell Fae in the air, too, but as he had discovered tonight when he'd scented her for fairy, the appealing aroma of the Fae paled in comparison to his delight in her scent.

It was her scent; he craved her pure, unadulterated sweetness like a drug, hungering for her like an addict yearning for their next fix. There was no recovery program for his addiction, no twelve steps to follow to salvation.

He truly was fucked.

He moved to sit on her bed, noting the dampness of the mattress after some time. He made a mental note to arrange for a new bed to be delivered. It was the least he could do after all she'd done for him. He'd do more, if he thought she would accept it. At least she'd accepted the money he'd paid her for his care. He'd been pleased when he noticed she'd cashed the check. He'd worried her fierce pride would rear its ugly head.

He picked up her pillow and pressed it to his face, inhaling deeply as he rubbed the Sookie scented cotton pillowcase across his skin. Did he rub his face against her skin like that? From the very first night, somewhere around the time she'd defiantly stated she wasn't especially sweet, all he wanted to do was fuck her, bite her and rub himself all over her. Had his amnesiac self felt the same?

He lay back on the bed, the pillow clutched to his chest. Had he held her to him like that? Had she draped her body, still slick with exertion from their lovemaking, across his naked chest? He held the pillow tighter, trying to imagine how her bountiful breasts might feel pressed to his muscular chest.

The pillow flew across the room as he cursed and sat up. No matter how vivid his fantasies, they were not memories. Eric Northman had enough fantasies of Sookie Stackhouse to last him another thousand years. It was the real thing he craved, and he felt doubly robbed by his memory loss. He'd somehow managed to lose her along with his memories.

A bleak expression adorned the vampire's face as he wondered if things would have been different if he'd risen that fateful evening with his memories of their time together intact. Would she be by his side right now had he not forgotten her? He cursed under his breath again as he considered which memory loss had been worse. Losing every memory of his long existence wold surely present obstacles to overcome, but he would have triumphed. Not remembering the time he suspected to be the most important period of his existence stood to ruin him eventually.

Come what may, Eric knew she would forever hold a piece of him. He would never be complete without her. He winced as he recalled the words he'd spoken to her earlier that evening.

_"Should I just bite you, and end it all?" _His mouth hovered over her shell-like ear as he posed his not so rhetorical question._ "I would never have to think about you again. Thinking about you is an annoying habit, and one I want to be rid of. Or should I start arousing you, and discover if sex with you was really the best I've ever had?"_

Mickey's untimely arrival prevented an immediate decision from being made, but Eric knew he'd lied to her in that moment. Constantly thinking of her was becoming a habit, but it wasn't always annoying. And while he _had_ thought of draining her just to be rid of her before, he didn't consider it an option after the maenad attack. The taste of her blood stayed with him, even as poisoned as it was. By the time they returned from Dallas, he had known he was lost to her.

To say he would never think of her again was the lie. She would haunt his thoughts forever, more particularly if her bright light was snuffed out by his hands. To harm her would be to harm himself. He would never do it.

Had he spoke the truth when he told her she was the best he'd ever had? Eric thought of her fiery nature, the way her eyes flashed and her chest heaved when she was angry, or arguing with him as she so often did. There was no way she didn't bring at least some of that passion into the bedroom. Her body was made for sin; the very epitome of what Eric considered physical perfection. Her soft curves and rounded hips made him ache every time he looked at her. His mouth actually watered at times when he watched her firm, round ass jiggle and sway as she moved.

He didn't know if she was the best he'd ever had, but he really wanted the opportunity to find out. Something told him Sookie Stackhouse might be the only woman who could ever captivate him so completely; mind, body and soul. He desperately wanted the chance to find out if she was the one. Eric was tired of being alone.

Even if he couldn't remember it, Eric was positive he'd never felt alone when Sookie had been caring for him. His memories were the only thing stripped away from him. Without his memories of the time, the wild emotional mood swings he experienced didn't make sense. There was nothing to anchor them to, nothing to explain why he felt the things he did. The instincts driving him had changed shape, shifting and melding in an ever changing mosaic of Sookie.

He wasn't surprised by Pam's description of his clingy, dependent behavior with Sookie during his memory loss. When he'd risen the evening after the curse had been broken, he'd been startled to find himself in Sookie's hidey hole. An inexplicably strong urge to see her, touch her and hold her close had filled him from the moment his eyes snapped open. He'd physically craved her touch, aching to feel her skin against his. He hadn't known where the feeling came from, and resisted the urge only because he'd been sure Sookie Stackhouse would never welcome him in that way. After all, he reflected now, she hadn't wanted anything from him before he'd been cursed. It was only when he was an uncomplicated simpleton did she finally yield to him.

When he wasn't even himself.

Did the real Eric Northman, political animal and Sheriff of Area Five, ever stand a chance with the telepath? Was he doomed from the very moment she had walked into Fangtasia? She had been a candle in the dark that fateful night, a beacon of light in a sea of darkness. He'd been fascinated first by her beauty and innocence – a white, flowery sundress in a vampire bar? – and then by her fiery, independent spirit.

Bill's claim on her had been tenuous at best. Eric could have swayed her to his side, he knew with the certainty of hindsight. There's been no indication of a physical relationship between the telepath and the younger vampire. Eric had teased forth the delicate perfume of her arousal that evening, not Bill. She'd been as attracted to him as he'd been to her, at least physically.

It wouldn't have done him any favors with Sookie to have forced the issue with Bill, who made it clear she was off-limits, so he let it drop. He knew Bill would inevitably fuck up and he had pictured himself swooping in to pick up the pieces.

Had he known what a goddamned clusterfuck their lives would shortly become, he might have made a different decision. But ultimately it would have been her choice to make, him or Bill. Would she ever have chosen him? Would he have to have met her first in order to win her heart?

The huge vampire lay backward again, settling his muscular frame against the blankets that had recently warmed her body as she slept. He closed his eyes as he thought of all the ways he'd gone wrong with the telepath, each miscalculated decision he'd made along the way. Every wrong step had led to this point, he reflected. If Sookie had only had more faith in him from the beginning, perhaps she might have stayed by his side when the worst occurred.

The vampire opened his glacial blue eyes and focused on something he'd only half noticed when he picked up her pillow earlier. Sitting up, he reached for the pillow where he imagined he'd rested his head. His hands landed on the black fabric tucked underneath the fluffy pillow. He pulled it out and his mouth tightened as he realized what it was.

A black T-shirt, Fangtasia emblazoned across the chest in gothic red script, in a men's extra-large.

His shirt.

Eric sat silently, the shirt clasped lightly in his grasp. She'd been sleeping with his shirt. He raised the garment to his face and inhaled deeply. His essence was immediately evident, but it was under-scored with the sweetest, saddest scent of Sookie's tears. His nose rubbed across her salty offerings as red fluids gathered in the corners of his own eyes.

She had cried for him. Buried beneath the warm blankets piled high on her bed, Sookie Stackhouse had shed tears for him.

The knowledge rekindled his hope for their eventual reconciliation, but a dark part of his brain mocked the hope swelling in his cold heart. She had certainly shed tears, but had they truly been for him? Or had the sweet, beguiling telepath cried for the loss of the simple, uncomplicated man he'd been?

Eric got up, dropped the T-shirt onto the bed and strode out of the room, his heavy boots echoing through the empty house. He found himself in the kitchen a short while later. He stood in the middle of the charred room and surveyed the fire-ravaged and water-soaked room. There would be no salvaging this space. Everything would have to go to make room for a brand new kitchen, a much needed upgrade in his opinion. Taking off his leather coat, Eric threw it to the relatively clean floor of the entranceway and got to work.

Hours later, the sun was starting to make its presence known, the eastern sky becoming lighter by the minute. The vampire stood in the now demolished kitchen and surveyed his efforts with a sense of satisfaction. He'd poured all of his pent-up frustration and fucking angst into the demolition efforts, beginning with ripping the cupboards from the walls after carefully unloading all of the salvageable china and equipment.

The countertops fell victim to the enormous strength he applied and folded with ease. Eric broke them into smaller pieces before throwing them through the backdoor to join the mounting pile of rubble. His heavy boots made short work of the lower cupboards before he moved on to the charred linoleum flooring. His strong hands ripped the melted flooring, separating the melded layers with ease.

He ripped the interior walls free from the studs, carefully examining the architectural structure of the house. Determining the loadbearing beams and studs, he methodically ripped through the rest until the burnt out kitchen was completely demolished. The great vampire stood in the remains of the room, regarding his efforts with satisfaction.

He felt no better about his situation, but the physical work had provided a temporary balm for his brain. He was at peace as he poured everything he had into ripping her kitchen apart. The work he had done in hours would have taken a work crew at least a full day, perhaps two. He assumed she had insurance, but it would at least cut down on costs and the time she was forced to be away from her home. They would be able to start the rebuild immediately.

Eric stepped across the beams which would support the new floor, examining each for any structural damage from the fire. Satisfied they were all as sturdy as they appeared; he walked into the foyer and picked up his coat from the floor. Shrugging into it until it lay smoothly across his wide shoulders; he pulled his phone from his pocket and rapidly fired off text messages to Pam, Alcide and Bobby Burnham.

Satisfied he had done as much as he could for the moment, Eric hurried to his car, mindful of the rapidly lightening sky. He would have to hurry to beat the sun to Shreveport. As he sat behind the wheel, though, keys in hand, he found he didn't want to leave. There was something about her personal space calling to him, offering solace in the absence of Sookie herself. After a short debate, he exited the car once again and vamped to the house, letting himself in.

His feet moved on autopilot, walking him down the hall and into the bedroom on the far right corner of the house. He walked through the bedroom and straight to the closet door. Pushing aside the various boxes and bags on top of the rug covering the floor, Eric revealed the trapdoor leading to the hidey-hole Bill had initially built, but which the Viking now considered his own.

Easing his six foot five frame into the narrow quarters, the vampire shimmied his body until he was comfortable. His scent permeated the space, mostly untainted by the smell of smoke. Oddly, Sookie's scent clung to the air here, too, co-mingling with his own, creating a delicious aroma. Eric's entire frame stiffened as he considered reasons why her scent was even here.

Had she come to his resting place at dusk, climbing in ravage him as he woke from his dayrest? Had she welcomed into the heat of her body, her slickness sliding over him? Eric's massive cock twitched at the images his over-active brain was producing, each more explicitly erotic than the last. He adjusted his pants, loosening his enormous belt buckle as his throbbing cock grew and pressed into the hard edges.

The great Viking vampire lay in the small, cramped hole in his former lover's home, fighting off a painful erection, waiting for the sun to claim him and give him reprieve from the aching, empty loneliness he felt this close to his heart's unrequited desire. He knew from bitter experience it would be the only reprieve he would be granted.

His eyes opened hours later. His mind was fully engaged and alert as always, but his internal clock told him he was still perhaps an hour away from sunset. With every sense on full alert, Eric scanned the house and found Sookie and a human male. He listened as they spoke and her friend Lafayette's voice came in loud and clear.

"Why can't you just admit that you're wrong?" Lafayette's exasperated voice echoed through the old house.

"Because I'm not wrong," came Sookie's reply. Eric recognized her stubborn tone and grinned. Whatever they were arguing about, Lafayette stood no chance of winning.

"Sookie," his voice changed, becoming wheedling and pleading, "what else does the man have to do to show you he cares?"

Eric stiffened, intuiting they were speaking of him. He strained his ears to better hear the nuances of her voice as she replied. He fervently hoped his prediction would not come to pass. This was not an argument he wanted her to win.

"Oh my God! He's done nothing lately to show me he even knows who the hell I am!" Eric could picture her in his mind's eye, standing with one hip cocked, arms crossed over her chest defensively. Her eyes would be narrowed in a face gone pale except for the high blotches of color on her cheeks.

Her angry, defensive pose was one he was intimately familiar with.

"What do you call what he did for you last night?" Lafayette countered. Good boy, the vampire thought.

"Yeah, what did he do for me last night? I went to him, the great and powerful vampire Sheriff with a vampire problem. He did his job and helped me out, but not without cost to me. I don't know why he chose to come look after the kitchen, but I don't imagine it's because he cares for me."

A vice gripped Eric's heart as the truth of her words penetrated the righteous fog of his brain. He _had_ sunk pretty low. She was right; he should have looked after the situation with Mickey because it was in fact his job, as she had rightly pointed out. He'd been blinded by greed when she'd requested her boon. He never stopped to wonder whether she was asking him, Eric Northman, or the Sheriff of Area Five for assistance.

Instead, he'd been as devious as she'd expected him to be and blackmailed her when she was at a low point. She'd just been fucking shot, and then burned out of her home, yet another attempt on her life. She had come to him with a legitimate vampire problem and he'd used it to further alienate himself from her.

He'd backed her into a corner and stolen the information she'd held so dearly. His move would cost him more than the information had been worth. He'd already suspected they'd had sex. Nothing she had told him explained why he _felt_ the way he did. Sex certainly had never had this effect before.

"The important part is that he did come, just as he's come every time you've called him," her friend pointed out gently. "You were the one who gave in and told him what he wanted to hear. You know you could have, and should have, just told him to do his damned job and look after that vamper going after Tara."

"I know Eric," she protested. "There's no way he was walking away without answers. I was tired of trying to keep it a secret. Everyone but him knew what happened, anyway. It's a wonder he didn't question everyone else."

"You love him, Sooks. He loved you. Why are you so determined to push him away? It's not his fault he can't remember."

Sookie loved him? He had loved her? Eric absorbed Lafayette's words with shock. Feelings ran deep between them, but he had never suspected they'd fallen in love. Eric wasn't even sure love was real. He'd seen no evidence to support it in a thousand years.

Had he really fallen in love with a part-Fae/human hybrid, a telepathic waitress with a stubborn streak a mile wide? Could Sookie have shown him how to love when he'd been lost in her arms?

"The vampire who loved me is gone. Eric Northman isn't that man. He wouldn't know how to love me," Sookie explained sadly. "What do I have left to hold onto, Lala? He doesn't remember me, and even though I told him what happened, he'll never know how we felt as those things happened. I can't just tell him to love me."

"Why would he have done this for you if he didn't care? You blew his mind, Sooks, telling him about all the shenanigans you two gots yourselves up to." It wasn't the confirmation of the sex that blew his mind. It had been everything else; his offer to leave everything behind just to be with her that blew his mind. "Then you toss him out into the rain just like Bill. You two had been attacked, for Christ's sake. You should have packed Tara's sorry ass off home and ravaged that man until daylight, Sook!"

"I could hardly toss Tara out after what she'd been through," Sookie protested. "And I can't just jump back into bed with him, Lafayette! I told you, he's not the same man anymore."

"Tara should have had the damned sense to hightail her ass out of there as soon as you did right by her," Lafayette replied indignantly. "And maybe you's right about not jumping into his bed, but you got to ease up a little here, Sook. You so sure he's not your man, but how do you know? You won't even talk to the man."

There was silence for a couple of minutes. Eric knew Sookie was thinking, her mind racing a million miles as she tried to find a strong argument to her friend's assertion

Eric used the silence to wonder why she was so sure he couldn't still be whatever he was to her before. They'd been happy, he was sure of it. Even her friends believed they had been in love. But Sookie was shutting him out. She wouldn't give him the chance to prove himself.

"It's impossible for Eric to be that man, Lala. My Eric put me first, no matter what. He was there for me in ways I couldn't imagine." Her voice was wistful as she spoke and the vampire felt his chest tighten.

"And why are you so sure this Eric wouldn't be the same?"

"Because he's not the same person!" She repeated herself with exasperation. "This Eric's first priority is his Area, his vampires. Vampires first, and all that."

"I still think you owe him a chance. What do you have to lose?"

"Oh, I don't know," she said sarcastically, "maybe my heart? Maybe I would lose myself to him."

"Sookie," Lafayette began, sympathy clear in his voice, "baby girl, you already done lost your heart to that man. You's already lost, child. Maybe you should start wondering if he's your way back."

Eric smiled as Lafayette's words came to him. He would be forever in his debt if he could get Sookie to see reason. Hell, he'd be happy enough if Lafayette evened warmed her up to the idea of seeing reason.

The familiar sound of Sookie's tears reached his ears and his high evaporated. He ached to go to her, to wrap her in his strong arms. He hated seeing her cry.

"I am lost, aren't I?" She sobbed, her words muffled. "I loved him, Lala. I thought I loved Bill, too, when we first met, but that was nothing, absolutely nothing to how completely I loved Eric. I'll never be whole without him."

"Then stop your stubborn bullcrap and put your pride away, baby girl. Pride got no place in matters of the heart. Talk to him, Sookie. I don't know if he's the one for you, but I do know I've never seen you this high, or this low before."

"I know I should," she sniffled, "I'm not a fool. And I know he deserved better than me holding out on him so long. He deserved to have his answers when he first asked for them." There was a pause and a shuffling before the unexpected sound of Sookie blowing her nose reached Eric. She sniffed a couple of times before picking up where she left off. "I know that Eric was the man for me. He got me, you know? I didn't have to always explain myself. What I felt for him was bigger than anything else."

"But this Eric is so complicated, so vampirey. He's a thousand year old vampire who's so used to getting what he wants…what chance do I have with someone like that? He can have whoever he wants, practically whenever he wants them. I've heard what all those girls think about when they see him, Lala. I don't think I can compete. Taking a chance like that would leave me without a heart at all, not just a broken one."

Where was the confidant woman who looked a vampire in the eye and proudly told him they'd consummated their relationship openly and freely? Where was the woman who'd smiled as she proudly stated she'd been the best he'd ever had? How could that woman worry about nameless, faceless fangbangers? Surely she realized she was on an entirely different level than those women.

If monogamy was a concern, he'd happily give up every other woman on earth to have Sookie warm his bed. He might not remember fucking her, but his body did and it clamored loudly for more every time he was near her. His well-honed instincts told him Sookie Stackhouse was all he needed.

"You gotta take the good with the bad, sweetie. You know – for better and for worse? If being vampirey is a part of him, you got to learn to love it, or at least accept it. That sweet part of him you met while he was cursed is there, too. Everyone's got a hundred sides. If you love him, you gotta accept it all. Just like he has to accept all of you. You's gots all kinds of sides, too, even a fairy side."

"So I should just accept it when he fucks the fangbangers?" She asked incredulously. "Are you nuts?"

"Fuck, no, hookah! Stake the motherfucka if he sticks his dick into anything else!" Lafayette's voice was cold and firm. He meant business. "But I'm sure he'll have no trouble keeping it in his pants if it means regular Sookie nookie." Eric heard a giggle erupt from Sookie and he smiled. A slapping sound followed quickly, Sookie taking revenge.

"There'd be no Sookie nookie otherwise. There's no way I could share him. I'm just not built that way." She sounded firm on that. It didn't surprise Eric in the least. If she'd been prepared to look the other way, Eric would have doubted the sincerity of her interest. She was clearly a monogamous sort.

"Talk to him, Sook. You're making a lot of assumptions about things you don't understand. Aint's no way you can tell what that man is thinking, Sook, and it's making you crazy. You's sniffing around for trouble because you can't tell what in his head." He laughed. "Welcome to the real world. Around here we gots to communicate with our men, child. You got to talk about things and learn about your man that way."

"Very funny," she snapped. Eric thought Lafayette's words held a tremendous amount of validity. Even though the silence of his mind had been a draw for the telepath, not being able to read him left her uncomfortably in the dark. For someone who had absorbed an entire communities' deepest, darkest secrets, it must be troubling for her not to be able to dip into his mind.

"I'm serious. You think we all don't freak out, wondering what the hell men are thinking? Come on, Sookie, you know better than that. How many heads have you heard that song in?"

"You think this is all normal, just regular girl meets guy and freaks out?" She asked, her crying jag at an end.

"I wouldn't call y'all regular," the flamboyant cook drawled in a slow southern twang. "But yeah, when you take everything else away, it really is just dating jitters you's having. We's all got to face having our hearts torn out, sweetness."

There was a long silence, broken only by the sound of a low radio playing in the background. Eric wondered if Lafayette was right. Was her reluctance explained as simply as that? Eric vowed to give her every ounce of reassurance she needed, if she would only give him a chance. He knew he could make her happy. He would find a way to give her everything she could ever want.

"You should probably get going. Eric will be rising soon." Sookie's voice floated through the old boards. Eric was disappointed she had called an end to their enlightening conversation. He had learned some valuable information. He only hoped he could put it to use without bungling everything even more.

"Yeah, I don't want to be here when he comes around," her friend replied. "But if you need me later, if you need to talk or drink or cry or scream, or anything at all, you call me, you hear?"

"I promise. You're the only one I would call," she replied in a brighter tone than he'd heard all evening. "Let's hope I don't need a shoulder to cry on, though."

"You gonna talk to him?"

She sighed, the sound whispering through the floorboards to tickle Eric's ear. Every powerful muscle on his body tensed as he waited for her reply.

"I suppose I should," she said with resignation coloring her tone. "I don't see how talking is going to change what I already know, but at least I can say I tried, right?"

The coil of tension released in Eric's large body, his muscles relaxing languorously as she confirmed her intentions. It would be up to him to prove how much one conversation could change things.

"Promise you'll actually give him a chance to speak? And you have to listen, too, Sook. You have to actually hear what he is telling you."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," she replied dismissively. Eric could hear their voices moving further from him. He assumed Sookie was walking her friend to the door. "I promise I will let him talk and I promise to hear what he says."

Eric listened as the two exchanged farewells and Lafayette issued a few last minute reminders to Sookie about plans they'd made for a get together. Sookie quickly confirmed she would be attending as planned and Eric heard the old door latch as she closed and locked it behind her friend. Her footsteps moved came closer and then receded again. The pattern continued long enough for Eric to deduce she was impatiently pacing the hall.

Eric raised his hand and pushed against the old wood forming the trapdoor to his resting place. He rose in a fluid motion as the door opened until he was standing at his full height. He stepped up from the hidey-hole and heard Sookie's steps slow in the hallway outside the bedroom door.

She knew he was awake.

He listened as her steps quickly retreated until she was again in the living room. The sofa gave a soft squeak as she sat down. He exited the closet and stood in the bedroom for a moment, smoothing his clothing and hair with suddenly nervous hands. He was happy he took the time to check his reflection, licking his fingers to wipe away the crusted blood in the corners of his eyes.

He exited the bedroom and strode down the worn wooden floorboards lining the short hallway. His posture and stance exuded confidence and control. He was a vampire in charge of his own destiny. He turned the corner and entered the living room. The woman who could change the course of that destiny sat curled in the far corner of the couch.

"Hi," she welcomed him in a small voice.

"Good evening," he replied graciously, moving to stand near the opposite end of the couch.

"Thanks for what you did in the kitchen. Alcide's crew told me it would have cost a couple of thousand to have gotten it done." Her expression was grateful as she met his eyes, but he didn't want to talk about her kitchen. "And thank you for the new bed. You really didn't have to."

Eric watched an intriguing blush crawl from her chest to slowly suffuse her cheeks. He never could guess what would make her blush.

"You provided shelter for me. I can at least make sure you have somewhere comfortable to sleep." His great shoulders moved together in a shrug. It made perfect sense to him.

"Well, thank you again, for it and the kitchen. I wouldn't have expected either." Curiosity blazed in her eyes as she looked at him, but she didn't want to ask what had prompted his late night visit to her home. They hadn't parted on friendly terms.

"You are welcome," he inclined his head, sending golden hair, so very much like her own, tumbling around his face. He tucked it behind his ear in an automatic motion, his eyes never leaving hers. "I'd like to let you believe it was a completely altruistic move on my part, but that would be a lie. I needed to vent some serious frustration. I chose to use my powers for good rather than evil." He finished with a grin flashing across his handsome face.

"Ah, well, I guess it's still noble for you to admit it," she grinned back at him, happy for the lighter moment. It was the one thing she missed the most about Eric. Bill had once said they shared the same zest for life, a similar joie de vivre. Even before the curse, they had enjoyed a happy, bantering friendship. It had been missing in recent times.

"May I?" He indicated the sofa and she nodded her assent. The vampire lowered himself into the corner of the sofa, angling his body to face her.

"Why are you here, Eric?" She looked at him curiously. "Why did you even come here last night? I expected you would have returned to Shreveport."

"I don't rightly know. I was just driving around after I left you and I found myself here." His deep blue eyes warmed as they held hers. "I think I wanted to feel close to you."

Eric's tender confession hung in the air. It was too late to take it back and Eric waited as Sookie decided what to do with it.

"What?" Sookie's breath caught in her throat as her wide eyes stared at his pale face. "You'd just left me, Eric. I told you what you wanted."

"And I never felt farther away from you." It had been cold and clinical, with none of her usual passion. She'd been so detached as she'd faced him last night.

"So you come to an empty house to be closer to me?" Sookie shook her head at his logic.

"This is where I was with you. I was happy then." He shrugged again, not meeting her eyes. "I'm trying to decide why I am not happy now."

"How do you know you were happy then?"

"Pam took great delight in telling me about how I behaved when I was with you." Eric's white teeth flashed against the pale, muted red of his lips as his mouth twisted into the semblance of a smile. "Octavia told me it was the happiest she'd ever seen me." The old witch had actually suggested he might have been better off before the curse was lifted. He'd scoffed at her at the time, but now he wondered if she'd see something more, something he couldn't understand now.

"And why are you unhappy now? Sookie asked, deciding not to ask what Pam said.

"I do not like having feelings," Eric spoke truthfully, his voice grim. "Especially ones I do not understand."

"What are you feeling that is making you unhappy?" He looked at her as she spoke, feeling the pain echoing in her words.

"It is not what I am feeling, little one," he spoke gently, his eyes holding hers. "It is that I have no recollection of why I feel the way I do. It is uncomfortable to not understand something you feel so passionately about."

"I'm sure the entire ordeal must have been difficult for you to accept. You must have a lot of pent-up frustration over what happened to you. It must be harder still that you can't remember what happened."

"I couldn't care less about what happened to me," Eric confessed, his blue eyes blazing with an emotion Sookie couldn't pinpoint. "I only care about what happened with us. You told me we had sex, and plenty of it, but I don't even care about that. I want to know what happened to make me think only of you during every waking moment. I want to know why I feel like I am drowning every time I look in your eyes, Sookie."

Sookie's breath hitched in her throat and her heartbeat raced until it felt like a hummingbird trapped in her chest, its wings beating frantically in a futile effort to escape the cage of her ribs. Her eyes darted around the room, looking everywhere but at the vampire sitting to her right. She didn't know what to make of his impassioned words. He thought of her? He drowned in her eyes?

What the hell was going on?

Eric watched the expression on Sookie's face as it flickered and wavered. He couldn't hope to understand what was going on in her head. Long minutes dragged by until Eric couldn't take her silence any longer.

"Sookie?" Eric spoke gently. He didn't want to startle her. "Tell me the truth. I beg of you, help me understand what's happening with me."

She finally turned to face him, her big blue eyes troubled as they met his. She regarded him silently for another few seconds, her teeth worrying the edge of her bottom lip. A resolve firmed her features and she spoke.

"I think you might have fallen in love with me." She stared him down defiantly as she spoke, but her resolve faltered as her words trailed off. She looked away, her gaze trained on the empty hearth.

Having heard the words from Lafayette earlier, Eric wasn't quite as floored as he might have been otherwise, but the words still shook him. The thousand year old vampire, largely unloved and lonely for those long centuries, had never expected to fall in love. Love was a myth humans created for comfort, not a tangible item the vampire could measure and weigh.

But as the former Viking warrior watched the lovely telepath blush furiously as she avoided his eyes, he wondered seriously if her words had any merit. He still couldn't quantify what love was, or what it meant, but the feelings in his heart were so foreign as to actually give credence to her words. He'd never felt quite this way before.

Eric slumped back, overwhelmed with the flood of emotion flowing freely through him. Was this love? Did he love the telepath?

"Do you love me, Sookie?" The words escaped his mouth unbidden.

Eric's heart clenched as she turned to face him, sadness etched deeply across her face. To his surprise, she didn't hesitate with her reply.

"I did love you, Eric." Moisture gave her eyes a misty, ethereal appearance.

"You did?" Hope bounced up and down in his chest as though practicing for a trampoline tournament. "Do you still?"

She shrugged hopelessly. A tear fell over her lashes and slid down her cheek. Eric watched as it splashed onto her pink T-shirt. He waited for the next to fall, but her eyes remained otherwise dry.

"I don't know, Eric. The man I fell in love with doesn't exist anymore."

The beast within him bellowed a thunderous denial.

"That is not true. My memories were gone, but it was still me you were with. He is still inside me, Sookie."

"A part of you, perhaps, but is it a part of yourself you even know how to access, Eric? You have a thousand years of calculated cynicism wrapped around that part of yourself." Her tone was detached.

"Perhaps," the vampire allowed. "But if he is not still inside me, why do I still feel what he did?"

"I don't know." Sookie stood up and began to pace around the living room. "I'm sorry you have to go through all of this."

"Don't apologize," he growled. "You have nothing to be sorry for."

"I knew it was wrong to get involved with you, Eric. You weren't yourself and it was me who put you in this situation." She spoke matter-of-factly, but kept her back to him as she spoke.

"Please," he snorted. "I'm sure I wasn't complaining."

"No, but I knew you weren't interested in emotional involvement," she pointed out.

"You cannot be held responsible for my feelings," he said gently. "And I think the boat sailed on the emotion thing long before I was cursed." His admission surprised him as much as Sookie. While it was true, it wasn't something he particularly wanted to examine.

"What do you mean?" She spun around to face him. A guarded expression graced her features, while her crossed arms solidified her defensive posture.

Eric stood up slowly, keeping his eyes on hers. He shoved his hands into his front pockets in a placating gesture before walking at a snail's pace toward her. He stopped when he was just a mere foot from the object of his fervent desires. He looked down at her beautiful face and sighed.

"These feeling started long before I was cursed," he admitted softly.

"When?" Her question was posed breathlessly as her rounded eyes held his.

"I haven't stopped thinking of you since we met," Eric confessed. "But these feelings only started in Dallas."

"That's just the blood talking," she said dismissively. Eric shook his head.

"No, but it was the reason I tricked you," he disclosed seriously. "I felt something for you even then. It was why I wanted my blood inside you. Even then I felt compelled to keep you safe."

He had been overwhelmed by the swell of emotion he'd felt for her as he'd patched her up after her disastrous experience at the Fellowship of the Sun headquarters. It was in that moment he'd resolved to get his blood into her by whatever means necessary. Opportunity presented itself as bombs rained down on them and Eric had grasped hold with both hands.

"What are you saying?" Sookie whispered. Her beautiful eyes were filling with bright, glittering tears, but none marred her soft cheeks.

"I'm saying that if its love I feel, then I started falling in love with you in Dallas." Eric spoke bravely, laying it all on the line.

Sookie didn't know how to react. Her mouth opened and closed as she tried to get a hold of her rampaging thoughts. She wasn't feeling brave. She was confused. This wasn't how she'd pictured this conversation going and it threw her for a loop, rendering her speechless. She struggled for breath as the love she'd been trying to squash swelled within her. Rolling, crashing waves of emotion threatened to pull her under, drowning her in the dangerous undercurrents.

"But I was still with Bill then." The first words she managed weren't exactly relevant to the discussion and she shook her head as her they echoed in her ears.

"Bill was not meant for you," Eric denied vehemently. "He served his only worthwhile purpose when he introduced us."

Bill's betrayal was still too fresh for Sookie to do anything but agree with Eric's statement.

"It bothered me to see you leave with him," he acknowledged softly. "Even then, I wanted you for myself."

"Why did you never tell me any of this before? You always made it seem like you just wanted to get into my pants," she accused.

"I didn't understand what I was feeling. It was – difficult to comprehend." Eric looked grim for a brief moment before flashing her a smirk. "And I did want to get into your pants. I can't believe I don't remember actually getting them off you."

"Shows what you know," she sassed back. It was nice to lighten the mood a little. "I wasn't wearing any pants."

Eric's eyes darkened as he stared at her. A hungry expression crossed his face before his impassive mask fell back into place. He carried on teasing as if her words hadn't had such an impact on him.

"Even better," he grinned at her. "I prefer you in dresses."

"Then it's really too bad I wasn't wearing a dress, either." She blushed, thinking of the way her body had trembled as he'd stepped into the small, steamy shower enclosure.

"What were you wearing?" Eric mused with a lecherous look.

"I think we're getting off topic here," Sookie pointed out a little breathlessly. She was well aware of how dangerous their current conversation was. Heat was already building uncomfortably between her legs.

"I don't think we are," he countered. The tell-tale scent of her arousal perfuming the air. "You want me, Sookie. I want you."

"I want more than you do, Eric. It could never work." She sounded suddenly weary.

"Why do you insist on dismissing what I feel?" Frustration colored his tone.

"Because I know what I feel!" she exclaimed. "This can't work, Eric. Wanting each other isn't enough. I want more than that."

"You still think I just want sex?" he asked incredulously.

"I don't know," she replied acerbically. "Why don't you just tell me what you want from me?"

"Everything." There was nothing he didn't want from her, he mused. He would take anything she offered, but he wanted everything she had.

"What does that mean?" Frustration was rising between them.

"It means I want you to be mine." Her eyes flashed as he spoke the much hated word. "Not like you think, little one. I want you to be mine like any man wants the woman he loves to be his. I want you in my bed and at my side. I want to be the last thing you think of before you sleep. I want you to be the first thing I see when I rise." He reached out and trailed a long finger across her cheekbone, trailing down to briefly caress her full lower lip before pulling away. "I can't stop these feelings I have for you. The gods know I've tried. I love you, Sookie Stackhouse, and nothing is going to change that. I want you with me. I need you to love me, too.

Sookie stared breathlessly at him, hope warring with uncertainty in her heart. He was offering her everything she wanted, everything she needed to feel complete. The only thing stopping her from flying into his arms was the unavoidable fact he was not _her_ Eric. Could this Eric ever love her as the other, simpler man he was did?

"I can't take the chance, Eric," she uttered softly. Eric's burgeoning hope spiralled downward, freefalling until it crashed into a million pieces. He stared at her mutely when she continued. "Unless you can assure me I am the only one in your life, I can't even begin to consider it. I need to know I am the only one you turn to, the only one you make love to. I need to know it is my body that nourishes yours."

Eric's spirits soared, sending the vampire on an emotion-fueled rollercoaster ride. He could agree to every one of her terms. He would delight in agreeing to each and every demand. His mouth watered as he thought of her honeyed blood flowing in his veins.

"You have been the only one for quite some time," Eric confessed softly, his intense eyes boring into hers. "I haven't been with another, Sookie. Even before I was cursed, there were very few since I met you. I only wanted you, even then. I promise you, there will be no others. I have no need for anyone else, if you will agree to be mine."

Eric Northman, the ancient Viking vampire, fearsome warrior and legendary lover, laid it all on the line for the telepath and she accepted his offering mutely. Her mesmeric eyes held his as she silently contemplated his offer. Vicious, unrelenting waves of emotion battered him thoroughly as he waited for her to respond.

"Yes," her whispered declaration hung in the air for an extra second as Eric took the moment to make sure he'd heard her properly. "Yes, I will be yours, Eric." Sookie took a step towards him and Eric reciprocated, closing the distance between them. Her silken arms wrapped around his neck as she stood on tiptoes to press her lips against his. "Take me. Show me what it means to be yours," she whispered against his lips. Her body pressed firmly against his, her curves melding to his hard frame.

They complimented each other perfectly; fitting together as if made for one another. Eric and Sookie reconnected on a primal level. His mouth claimed hers, swallowing her words whole. Her flavor overwhelmed him as she parted her lips with a delicate sigh. She pressed even closer to him and Eric's hands slid down her hips, urging her legs up and around his waist.

Sookie didn't offer any resistance. Her very core was pressed against Eric's turgid erection and she rotated her hips, reacquainting herself with his firm contours. His big hands found the rounded, full curve of her ass and massaged the supple flesh. He drew her squirming hips tightly to his as his mouth continued ravaging her lips.

Soft, breathy moans and guttural, harsh groans filled the air as the telepath and the vampire made their way back to each other. Undemanding, fervent words of love and desire passed between them as clothing started to fall away and eager hands caressed naked flesh. Firm, cool flesh met soft, silken curves as their naked bodies twisted and writhed.

Eric swept her into his arms, never breaking their kiss. Sookie let her hands explore the hard planes of his chest, fingers teasing hard nipples. She revelled in the sounds of pleasure rumbling through his chest as she lightly pinched the hard buds. He ascended the staircase rapidly and soon they were in the bedroom. Eric reluctantly pulled his mouth away so he could place his precious cargo on the brand new bed. He was pleased to note she'd already made the bed with fresh linens.

Sookie sprawled naked across the bed, unabashed and unashamed by her nudity. Her eyes were heavy with desire as she watched Eric divest himself of his jeans, his only remaining clothing. Her breath caught in her throat as his engorged cock sprung free from the confines of his jeans. The bulbous tip was leaking its appreciation for her beauty and sensuality.

The telepath rose to her knees and crawled over to the object of her desire. Eric looked into her eyes, unsure of her intentions as she made her way toward him. Sookie maintained eye contact as she slowly arranged herself in front of him until his nearly painful erection was pointed directly at her. She licked her lips quite deliberately before wrapping a small hand around the base of his shaft, directing his steely flesh into the warm cavern of her mouth.

Every inch of his six foot five frame stiffened as her mouth engulfed him. He groaned, his hands reflexively clenching into fists. He itched to bury them in the golden hair tumbled around her shoulders, but held back in fear. Her mouth felt like Valhalla and he didn't dare disturb her. His eyes closed as her wet heat swallowed him over and over again. Her rhythm was perfect.

Sookie stroked his inner thigh as she tongued the thick vein running along the length of his shaft. Her hand moved up to lightly grasp his balls, her small hand barely able to contain him. She moaned wantonly as she felt his balls tighten in her grasp and it was Eric's undoing.

His hands finally slid into her hair, holding her still as she suckled his erupting flesh. His hips jerked spasmodically as she continued to softly caress his balls. Her warm, supple tongue teased his sensitive skin, prolonging his pleasure. Her name fell from his lips like a prayer as he massaged her warm scalp and enjoyed her tender ministrations as she lovingly attended to his still hard cock.

Eric's heart melted as he looked down at the woman between his legs. She smiled up at him mischievously as she let his cock slide from her mouth with a pop. He knew in that moment she was undeniably right.

He loved her with his entire heart.

Eric leaned down and captured her lips in a searing, passionate kiss. Sookie's head tilted back under the onslaught and before long she was pressed into the mattress; a large, powerful vampire licking and suckling his way down her body. She felt him kneel on the floor beside the bed and lift her splayed legs until her heels rested on the mattress. Her knees fell naturally to the sides as the blonde beauty moaned in anticipation.

Eric had taught her much about sex during their nights together, but Sookie quickly discovered how much she loved it when Eric made love to her with his mouth. His cool lips and tongue turned her into a quivering mess as her sensitive nerves responded to his every touch. Eric was rewarded with her breathy, passionate cries as he greedily lapped up the nectar she produced.

Her head fell back onto the bed as he nuzzled his face into her glistening flesh. Her eyes snapped open as his words penetrated the sensual fog surrounding her.

"Watch me, lover," he commanded softly. His breath felt deliciously cool against her overheated flesh.

Sookie propped herself up on her elbows and watched as he took her swollen nub between his lips and suckle softy. A keening sound built in her chest as he developed a rhythm. A cry ripped from her as he pushed a long finger inside her wet heat. He lapped at her flesh, his tongue keeping immaculate time with his invading finger.

Eric was lost in her taste and her heat. She was everything he could have imagined, and yet, she was so much _more_. He could never have predicted the ambrosia that was her arousal, could never imagine the pleasure he would feel at her hands. He added a second finger to her slick channel and was rewarded when her hips bore down, seeking deeper penetration and friction.

Sookie managed to keep her eyes on him as he fucked her easily with his thick fingers. His tongue still flickered at her clit, but at a teasing, tormenting pace. Her hands gripped his thick hair as she pushed her hips harder against his thrusting fingers.

She broke into a million pieces, her head falling back and her back arching hard as he unexpectedly added a third finger and started stroking upward. He rubbed against her upper walls with purpose, stroking against the spot he'd first introduced her to. Sookie cried his name as he sucked hard on her clit, the very tips of his fangs descending and scraping lightly into her flesh.

Eric buried his nose against her femoral artery, savoring the scent of the rushing blood just below the surface of her skin. His fingers continued to stroke her walls softly as she came down from her high. His mouth replaced his fingers as he indulged in her incomparable flavor. A deep, pleasurable groan reverberated through her sensitive skin as Eric lapped up the evidence of her orgasm.

"You are exquisite," Eric murmured against her skin as he licked and kissed his way up her delectable curves.

"Mmmm," Sookie moaned in response as his mouth closed over a swollen nipple. Small hands tangled in his hair; Sookie held him close as he lavished attention on the tight bud.

His long, hard body settled between her legs as he continued to worship her smooth, tanned flesh. His aching flesh jerked as it came in contact with her wet heat. The great vampire gritted his teeth as he struggled for control. His gums ached from the demanding pressure of his fangs. Eric refused to let them drop.

Sookie's supple limbs writhed against him, desperately seeking more friction. His cool length slid teasingly through her folds as she bucked her hips sensuously in invitation. Her grip on his hair loosened as her hands sought the taut muscles of his back. Small hands caressed him as he nudged the tip of his rock hard cock into the beginning of her tight channel.

"Gods, you are tight," he grunted, his face showing nothing but complete wonder as he pushed deeper into her silken grasp. He drew back his hips and Sookie moaned in protest. Her warm hands fastened against the flexing muscles of his sculpted ass, urging him deeper and deeper as he drove home.

Home. The word struck him with considerable force as he seated himself fully in her soft, welcoming wetness. She felt like home; warmth and love wrapped around him. He thrust gently within her as her clenching muscles pulled at him.

"This is right." He threw back his head and thrust harder. "This is _best_."

The lovers moved in seamless unison as they reaffirmed their love. Sookie's cries echoed through the room as Eric brought her to completion, only to start all over again. Hot, dirty words spilled from his lips to her ear and her body quivered in his grasp. Eric held her rounded hips as he plunged into her depths. A tender expression graced the fearsome vampire's face as he watched her pleasure peak. She was radiant, her golden skin dewy and flushed with desire.

Sookie's sleek legs wrapped tightly around his waist and Eric groaned as the angle of her hips changed. Her impossibly tight channel clung to him even more wantonly, her silken walls squeezing him with every stroke. His lips captured hers in a searing kiss as he felt his balls tighten. His grip on her hips tightened as he jerked against her.

Eric's huge body shook as a mind-altering orgasm ripped through his body. His head lifted as he roared his satisfaction for the world to hear.

This was the best moment of his whole existence.

He slumped forward, careful to not crush her delicate bones beneath him. He rolled onto his side, pulling her limp body to him. The vampire lowered his face until his nose was pressed into her tousled hair. He inhaled deeply, a blissful smile on his face.

"I love you, Sookie Stackhouse." Eric softly pressed his lips to her temple.

"I love you, too, Eric Northman," she replied sleepily. Her fingers toyed with the fine blonde hairs on his chest. She purred like a kitten as she snuggled closer to him. Eric's large hand rubbed gently on her back, smoothing down to her hip and back.

"This is right," she heard him whisper softly. "This is best."

"You said that before, you know," she whispered back. "When you were cursed." Her vampire lover grinned in response.

"I told you, lover. I am the same man."

* * *

Hope you all enjoyed it! Please feel free to tell me what you think. Constructive criticism is always appreciated.

Thanks for reading.


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